Danica Moore, a woman of color who previously worked at Philadelphia FIGHT, is suing the local HIV/AIDS agency, claiming she worked in a racially hostile work environment.
According to Moore’s 13-page lawsuit, FIGHT has a documented history of racial insensitivity, which Moore fell victim to. The lawsuit contends that Moore was treated in a biased manner due to her involvement with Black and Brown Workers Collective (BBWC), a group that combats racism.
Moore’s case is headed to a jury trial in November if it can’t be settled before then, said U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez during a status conference last week.
The case is currently in the discovery phase and both sides are providing information to each other.
Moore worked for FIGHT for about seven years beginning in 2011. She served as a program manager for FIGHT’s Still Rising Women’s Support Group & Healing Course.
In 2016, multiple FIGHT employees who were BBWC members filed an antibias complaint against FIGHT with the city’s Human Relations Commission. Their complaint resulted in findings that were critical of FIGHT. At the time, FIGHT was headed by Jane Shull, a Caucasian woman who allegedly was upset with Moore’s involvement with BBWC, according to the lawsuit.
“Shull, for the most part, stopped speaking to Moore,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also asserts that one FIGHT employee called the agency “an insane asylum,” and conveys that Moore was mistreated because she was an “angry Black woman” who “didn’t smile enough.”
Moreover, the lawsuit criticizes FIGHT for an alleged paucity of Black employees in managerial positions. The lawsuit alleges that Black employees were seen by FIGHT’s leadership as being inclined to “steal” from the agency.
In September 2017, a nurse manager at FIGHT began screaming in front of other staffers that Moore was harassing her. The nurse manager engaged in this behavior on multiple occasions, according to the lawsuit.
Moore denies harassing the nurse manager and contends the nurse manager treated other Black employees in a similarly hostile manner, according to the lawsuit.
In September 2017, Moore filed an internal antibias complaint within FIGHT. Instead of being treated better, Moore was retaliated against and experienced more harassment and discrimination, according to the lawsuit.
One of the adverse effects of Moore’s internal complaint was being transferred to a less desirable position at FIGHT, according to the lawsuit.
Moore was pressured to accept the new position or be fired. After objecting to the options offered to her, Moore eventually accepted the new position, only to be fired the following month, in February 2018, according to the lawsuit.
Moore’s lawsuit seeks a judicial order that FIGHT “cease and desist” all unlawful actions pertaining to its employees. Additionally, the lawsuit seeks damages for Moore in excess of $75,000.
In defense papers, FIGHT’s attorneys dispute the lawsuit’s allegations and deny any wrongdoing by FIGHT.
“Personnel actions taken with regards to [Moore] were taken in good faith, for legitimate business reasons, and were non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory in nature,” defense papers state.
Defense papers also state that “any damages [Moore] allegedly suffered resulted from [Moore’s] own decisions, actions and omissions.”
Neither side had a comment for this story.